80s0n8 Big 40 Countdown Schedule

HecticArt said:
That is pretty cool. So many musicians never make more than beer money or enough to buy a couple of instruments, and the few that make a LOT of money tend to blow through it. It's rare to
make it big. Being able to buy a decent house after having the fun of playing for a while is great.
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This was a nice payday for a guy who'd been in bands forever, but always at the "slugging it out in clubs" level. I didn't wanna get too detailed because it's not my business to spread another person's financial stories around, but I'll say his song from one of those club bands got covered by an "alternative rock" band that had an album that unexpectedly sold MILLIONS in the mid-90's. My friend's song was never a single, but just having it on that huge album was a score outta nowhere for him.
 
MonoStereo said:
This was a nice payday for a guy who'd been in bands forever, but always at the "slugging it out in clubs" level. I didn't wanna get too detailed because it's not my business to spread another person's financial stories around, but I'll say his song from one of those club bands got covered by an "alternative rock" band that had an album that unexpectedly sold MILLIONS in the mid-90's. My friend's song was never a single, but just having it on that huge album was a score outta nowhere for him.
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That's great for him!

I had come to the realization that I'd be playing in a crappy cover band forever barely making beer money, so I went to college to get a degree. I knew I'd starve otherwise. Getting the recognition your friend got, even second hand (if you will), is a cool recognition that he had more going on for him than guys like me.
 
HecticArt said:
That's great for him!

I had come to the realization that I'd be playing in a crappy cover band forever barely making beer money, so I went to college to get a degree. I knew I'd starve otherwise. Getting the recognition your friend got, even second hand (if you will), is a cool recognition that he had more going on for him than guys like me.
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He's a very talented writer & performer for sure, but I bet there's a good chance you wouldn't even recognize any of his band's names if I mentioned them. I got to know him during the course of the last band he was in, & when they came thru town they'd play to maybe 50-100 people. So for as good as he is at what he does, this nice payday was still a weird shot in the dark deal for him. The multi-platinum band that covered his song hadn't sold squat up to that point, & could've picked any other song from any other band to cover. It was a real lottery win.

The funny thing is, one of the times his last band came thru town I was blown away by the opening band that night. Ended up going to see THEM every time they came thru town & ended up becoming really good friends with those guys. And one of THOSE guys went on to play with a "popular" underground band ( sounds like a contradiction, I know ) to this day. The lead singer/main writer in that opening band is by & large out of the music business now. You just never know how stuff will pan out for people.
 
I always wonder how much $$$ the writer of this song ( a guy from a obscure band called The Brains ) has made from it in the last 40-ish years.
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I think about that too. Like the original writers of "The Tide Is High", "I Love Rock & Roll", "Mickey", "Got My Mind Set On You", etc.
 
Good 8
Okay 6
Bad 26

Pretty mediocre countdown for me. Even of the ones I called 'good', there were no great songs.

38: In Neon – Elton John

For reasons unknown, I started singing "Levon" as "And he shall be in neon. And he shall be a good man."

36: Operator – Midnight Star

I think I've said this in the past, maybe more than once, but THIS SONG FEELS LIKE IT'S NEVER GOING TO END!

32: Solid – Ashford & Simpson

As a teen, I always sang this as "And now it's solid, solid as my cock!"

14: Do What You Do – Jermaine Jackson

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1: Like A Virgin – Madonna

All 3 of us picked this one.

Will never get into the top 40
#50 George Benson "20/20"
#53 Barbra Streisand/Kim Carnes "Make No Mistake, He's Mine"
#55 Kinks "Do It Again"
#60 Temptations "Treat Her Like A Lady"
#61 Tommy Shaw "Lonely School"
#64 Deep Purple "Knocking At Your Back Door"
#66 Alphaville "Big In Japan"
#67 Bronski Beat "Small Town Boy"
#70 David Bowie "Tonight"
#71 Billy Squier "Eye On You"
#72 Rod Stewart "All Right Now"
#73 Frankie Goes To Hollywood "Two Tribes"
#74 Laura Branigan "Ti Amo"
#80 Jeffrey Osborne "Don't Stop"
#81 Kenny Rogers/Dolly Parton "The Greatest Gift Of All"
#82 Nolan Thomas "Yo Little Brother"
#85 Lorenzo Lamas "Fools Like Me"
#86 Roger Hodgson "Had A Dream"
#87 Whodini "Friends"
#88 Billy Idol "Catch My Fall"
#90 Eugene Wilde "Gotta Get You Home Tonight"
#92 Rick Springfield "Taxi Dancing"
#93 Rick Dees "Eat My Shorts"
#95 Paul Hardcastle "Rain Forest"
#96 Shalamar "Amnesia"
#99 Dazz Band "Let It All Blow"
#100 Scandal/Patty Smith "Hands Tied"
 
#55 Kinks "Do It Again"
#71 Billy Squier "Eye On You"
#73 Frankie Goes To Hollywood "Two Tribes"

I liked and listened to these 3 back then. They would have made my top 40 that week.
 
They did 1984/12/22 a couple weeks back. The countdown for 1984/12/29 is identical as it is over Christmas. That is only 1 countdown away from this chart. Another selection from the Piss Poor Planning department @ SXM.
 
sadchild said:
36: Operator – Midnight Star

I think I've said this in the past, maybe more than once, but THIS SONG FEELS LIKE IT'S NEVER GOING TO END!
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I always laughed at the end when the operator said: "Can you speak up because I can just barlaay her you?"
sadchild said:
32: Solid – Ashford & Simpson

As a teen, I always sang this as "And now it's solid, solid as my cock!"
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Oh my....

MC Lyte sampled "Solid" on her song "Lyte as a Rock":


sadchild said:
14: Do What You Do – Jermaine Jackson
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Iman (David Bowie's wife) was Jermaine Jackson's love interest in the music video. She betrayed him and a friend was cracking up when she said "They forced me!" The way she said it was hilarious.

sadchild said:
Will never get into the top 40
#50 George Benson "20/20"
#60 Temptations "Treat Her Like A Lady"
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These two did well in the UK.
sadchild said:
#85 Lorenzo Lamas "Fools Like Me"
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Why?
sadchild said:
#92 Rick Springfield "Taxi Dancing"
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Randi Crawford wasn't listed, but I think she was maybe later.
sadchild said:
#93 Rick Dees "Eat My Shorts"
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Again why?
sadchild said:
#96 Shalamar "Amnesia"
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They were pretty much done as a group by this point.
sadchild said:
#99 Dazz Band "Let It All Blow"
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#9 R&B hit.
 
Here are the songs below the 100 for 1/12/85.

Bubbling Under the Hot 100

This was a weird listing. #101-#105 was not published. I guess they ran out of room on the page. The chart numbers were after the listings too. The title for "Jail House Rap" was not listed completely and "Mechanical Emotion" did have a chart number next to it. I'm assuming it's #111 because it peaked at #107.

#106 Fat Boys "Jailhouse Rap" (peaked at #105, #17 R&B)
#107 The Whispers "Contagious" (peaked at #105, #10 R&B)
#108 Twisted Sister "The Price" (peaked at #?, #19 Rock)
#109 The Gap Band "Beap A Freak" (peaked at #?, #2 R&B)
#110 Sade "Hang on to Your Love" (peaked at #102, #14 R&B)
#111 Vanity with Morris Day "Mechanical Emotion" (peaked at #107, #23 R&B)

Comments:
  • "Beap A Freak" may be the first mention of a beeper in a song. The only other mention I remember was "Beepers" by Sir Mix-a-Lot from 1989.
  • I hadn't heard "Mechanical Emotion" in a long time. Vanity sings about her "middle" in an unrecognizable accent and rattles off something in French. Morris Day tells her that she "keeps him erect" and that he's "sick of this mess". The song is a train wreck, but fun times.

Playlist:
 
1983, I know I'm missing some, especially in the spring

Hall & Oates "Maneater" (82/83)
Men At Work "Down Under"
Toto "Africa"
Patti/James "Baby Come To Me"

LATER
Michael Jackson "Billie Jean"
Dexy's "Come On Eileen"
Michael Jackson "Beat It"
Irene Cara "Flashdance"
Police "Every Breath You Take"
Eurythmics "Sweet Dreams Are Made"
Michael Sambello "Maniac"
Billy Joel "Tell Her About It"
Bonnie Tyler "Total Eclipse Of"
Kenny/Dolly "Islands In The Stream"
Lionel Richie "All Night Long"
Paul/Michael "Say Say Say" (83/84)
 
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